Soon after a gunman opened fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Donald Trump was on Truth Social demanding a “dog walker” drop her lawsuit so he could get back to building his ballroom. Priorities, apparently, were firmly intact.
The lawsuit in question was brought by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, not by anyone walking a dog.
A federal judge blocked the $400 million East Wing demolition project last month, ruling it required congressional approval. Trump described the plaintiff as “a woman walking her dog, who has absolutely No Standing to bring such a suit” and demanded the challenge be dropped immediately.
He also tied the shooting to the ballroom proposal.
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“This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” he wrote. “It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House.”
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, however, is organized and hosted by the Correspondents’ Association, not the White House, meaning a ballroom on White House grounds would not have changed its venue regardless of its security features.
Trump also claimed the ballroom had been sought after for 150 years.
“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE.” The historical record on presidential ballroom demands over 150 years has not been independently verified.
Karoline Leavitt posted Sunday morning that the dinner had been “hijacked by a depraved crazy person who sought to assassinate the President and kill as many top Trump administration officials as possible.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche took a more measured approach on Meet the Press, saying: “I want to be careful not to say something that ends up not being true.”
The two statements were made about the same event within hours of each other.
The ballroom idea itself had already been part of the conversation.
Days earlier, Trump pointed to the upcoming visit by King Charles III and said, “If I had that ballroom built it would be full.” He added, “You know we have a little, a room that’s not big enough to handle what would be a big crowd.”
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
